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13 October 2006

Soundtracking

One of my favorite things to do when directing a play is to put together the soundtrack, and sometimes when writing I will try to manipulate how I write by what music I select for the background (or don't select -- silence has its own effect).

Thus, I was immediately interested in the new "soundtrack to your life" meme that Gwenda Bond and Elizabeth Bear did. For fun, I put iTunes on shuffle and looked at what the songs would correspond to. I didn't intend originally to write about it here, but the songs that came up created a strange sort of narrative, with some spooky syncronicity, and I immediately began trying to think of a story to build from most of them. I'll probably try to write the story, so am recording here the initial impulse...

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?So, here's how it works:1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)2. Put it on shuffle3. Press play4. For every question, type the song that's playing5. When you go to a new question, press the next button6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

Opening Credits:"Oliver Cromwell" by Monty PythonThe most interesting thing about King Charles the first is that he was 5 foot 6 inches tall at the start of his reign, but only 4 foot 8 at the end of it....because of....

Waking Up:"So Come Back, I Am Waiting" by Okkervil RiverAnd there’s plenty of ways to claim his crimes tonight,and there’s plenty of things to do on his dime.And there’s plenty of ways to wear his hide tonight.

You’ve got yours and I’ve got mine. You’ve got yours and I’ve got mine.So whydid you flee?Don’t you know you can’t leave his controlonly call all his wild works your own?So come back and we’ll take them all on.So come back to your life on the lam.So come back to your old black sheep man.

First Day at School:"Evening Song" by Philip Glass, from Satyagraha [no lyrics]

Falling in Love:"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" from O Brother Where Art Thou?I am a man of constant sorrowI've seen trouble all my day.

Fight Song:"So Fast, So Numb" by R.E.M.listen. this is now. this is here.this is me. this is what I wantedyou to see.that was then. that was that.that is gone. that is past.you cast yourself, cast.passed by, thrown down fast. you say.

you say thatyou hate it.but you want to recreate it.

Breaking Up:"Gold Dust" by Tori AmosHow did it go so fastyou'll sayas we are lookingbackand then we'llunderstandwe held gold dustin ourhands

Prom:"Divertimento for Strings" by Bela Bartok [no lyrics]

Life is Good"Estate Sale" by EelsMan: "These are the sounds of the days that are past."

Woman: "A miracle was about to happen."

Mental Breakdown:"Poor Ditching Boy" by Richard ThompsonWas there ever a winter so cold and so sadThe river too weary to floodThe storming wind cut through to my skinBut she cut through to my blood

Flashback:"Play Dead" by BjorkI play dead, and the hurting stops. It's sometimes just like sleeping, curling up inside my private tortures.

Getting Back Together:"Crazy Man Michael" by Natalie MerchantMichael he whistlesThe simplest of tunesAs he asks of the wild woodsTheir pardonBut his true love has flownInto every flower grownAnd he must be keeperOf the garden

Paying the Dues"Paranoid Android" by RadioheadPlease could you stop the noise, I'm trying to get some restFrom all the unborn chicken voices in my head

The Night Before the War"Happy" by The FramesCome help me out I'm sick from the fightfrom inserting a laugh where there's noneshow me where this joke got tired

Final Battle"Ruby's Arms" by Tom WaitsI'll feel my way down the darkened hall,and out into the morningthe hobos at the freightyardshave kept their fires burningso jesus christ this goddamn rainwill someone put me on a trainI'll never kiss your lips againor break your heart

Moment of Triumph"Police on My Back" by The ClashI'm running down the railway trackCould you help me? Police on my backThey will catch me if I dare drop backthey will kill me for the speed I lack

Death Scene"Hell Yeah" by Ani DiFrancoLife is a b movieIt's stupid and it's strangeA directionless storyAnd the dialouge is lameBut in the he-said/she-saidSometimes there's some poetryIf you turn your back long enoughAnd let it happen naturally

Funeral Song"Coin-Operated Boy" by Dresden Dollscoin-operated boysitting on the shelfhe is just a toybut i turn him onand he comes to lifeautomatic joythat is why i wanta coin-operated boymade of plastic and elastiche is rugged and long-lastingwho could ever ever ask for morelove without complications galoremany shapes and weights to choose fromi will never leave my bedroomi will never cry at night againwrap my arms around him and pretend

End Credits"Angels of Deception" by The TheDown by the river, I've been washing out my mouth,'cuz deep in the heart of methere's a frightened man breaking out.Oh I was just looking for paradiseanywhere in this worldWhile they're gunning for heaven--from this man made hell!

I doubt I'll stick with the exact circumstances of the sections (prom?!) for the story, but I'll definitely keep the order of songs and see what happens. If it seems to be going well and worth sharing, I'll post fragments here.

Yes, every other song I own is by Neil Diamond. He has influenced the very fabric of my life! (I'd love to hear him sing the lines from the Ani DiFranco song, "I got a face like a limp handshake/hair like an accident scene..."

And as for a prom story, well, I may yet do it. We shall see. For Halloween this year, I've been planning to be the Prom Queen (with help from the person who coordinates our prom at the school where I work), so maybe I'll write about that.......